Interactive Java Tutorials

Stereoscopic Zoom Microscopy

Many stereoscopic microscopes feature the ability to perform a continuous magnification change by means of a zoom lens system placed between the objective and the eyepieces. Explore zoom magnification, focus, and illumination intensity in stereoscopic microscopes with this interactive Flash tutorial.

The tutorial initializes with specific settings for the Zoom Magnification, Lamp Intensity, and Focus sliders. The Zoom slider is initially positioned to display the lowest magnification of the specimen, while the Focus slider is preset with the specimen not in focus. After initialization, use the Lamp Intensity and Focus sliders to adjust the brightness and focus of the specimen. Next, use the Zoom Magnification slider to increase and decrease the specimen magnification. Use the Zoom Mode dial to toggle between continuous zoom and a set of pre-selected magnification steps. The Eyepieces dial allows the visitor to simulate changing the magnification of these lens assemblies between 10x and 15x. Objectives can be changed with the Objective dial (the Objective and Eyepieces dials do not currently select new magnifications).